The Manilla Folder
by A Carter
Summary: Set after the finale, a short glimpse into the lives of the CohenCooperAtwood family. Mostly fluff, but a good continuation of the characters and their lives.


Disclaimer: The OC and its characters are not mine. Which is really, really lame, actually.

"Hello?" Ryan picked up the phone distractedly, shuffling through the blueprints on his desk. "Hey, man. It's me. What are you doing right now?" Ryan sighed, "Seth, I'm at work. What do you want?" Seth replied, "Oh, nothing. I just figured you would want to meet your new niece when she arrived." Ryan looked up from his desk quickly, "Wait. The baby's here?" Seth scoffed, "Well, that got your attention. Not a conversation with me, but the baby." Ryan could picture him shaking his head on the other end of the line. "But, no, no, she's not here yet. We're on our way to the hospital now. You've got to be there, man." His voice lowered to a whisper, "I'm totally freaking out here. Summer's rage blackouts are worsening with the onset of labor. This is a bad situation all around." Ryan smiled, "I'm on my way, man. I'll see you soon." He went to hang up the phone but stopped before it hit the cradle, "Oh, and Seth…congratulations. Tell Summer I say good luck."

Ryan got to the hospital about twenty minutes later, having run a few red lights on the way. He entered the waiting room to find Sandy and Kirsten already seated, looking anxious and nervous. Sophie came around the corner, a package of M&Ms in her hands. She squealed excitedly when she saw her brother. "Ryan! I got the last bag of the peanut ones!" Ryan laughed as he bent down to hug the ten-year-old. She was still small enough for him to pick up and swing around, but she was becoming quite the young lady and usually refused, so he settled for hugs. She had grown up so fast, and for the life of him, Ryan couldn't figure out where the time had gone. "Hi, guys," he said to his parents. "How is she?" Sandy came up to give him a quick hug, "She's only been in there for about forty minutes, so there haven't been any updates yet." Kirsten followed, embracing her second child. "Are you ready to be an uncle?" Ryan shrugged, a small smile on his face. "I think the bigger question is if you guys are ready to be grandparents. Or maybe if Seth is ready to be a dad." Sophie tugged on Ryan's suit jacket. "Is Taylor coming?" she asked. Ryan shook his head. "Taylor's in France on a business trip, kiddo, but she'll be home this weekend." Ryan fiddled with the wedding band on his left hand. It had taken him a long time to be ready, but he and Taylor had finally gotten married the year before. Their relationship had been off and on since he left for Berkeley, but after college ended and they had each gotten their lives together, they had found one another again. Taylor had ended up proposing to him (well, not so much a proposal as an ultimatum), but he was glad she did. He admitted it freely; he had been dragging his feet, and the push was just what he needed. The marriage was a happy one; they had each taken time to do their own thing, much like Seth and Summer, and were much better people for it.

Three hours and forty minutes later, a doctor came out to see the family clustered in the plastic seats of the waiting room. "Are you the Cohens?" They all nodded. "Well, congratulations on your new addition. You can go in to see them now. Everyone's a little tired, though. Follow me through here." He led them to a room down the hall, and they filed in. Summer was propped up in bed, holding a bundle of blankets, and Seth was standing next to her, staring down proudly. He looked up as his family entered, "Hey, guys. Come closer!" They all moved nearer to the bed. "Hi, everyone. This is Grace," Summer said tiredly. "Gracie, can you say hi to your family?" Ryan gave Seth a quick hug, with a quiet "Congratulations, man." Sandy and Kirsten beamed down at their granddaughter, and Sophie stood transfixed at her little niece. "She's beautiful, Summer," said Kirsten. "She's a keeper, all right," commented Sandy. "What's her middle name?" Seth and Summer looked at each other a moment before Seth replied, "It's Atwood. Grace Atwood Cohen," He looked at Ryan. "We figured it was about time we meshed the two names somehow, man. Plus, you know, I figure it'll come in handy when she has to fight off all the boys in a few years. Atwoods have a nasty left hook." Ryan was shocked, and incredibly touched. "I…don't know what to say." Sandy chuckled, "Big shocker there." The group's laughter broke the silence. Ryan smiled sheepishly and gave Summer and Seth a look of gratitude. Both nodded back, no words necessary. Finally, an excited Sophie asked, "Can I hold her?" Seth replied, "Well, sure, Princess Sophie. But you have to sit in this chair over here and be super careful. She's brand new, you know," He gently took his daughter from his wife and propped her into his sister's arms. "Here you go; support her head," he told her. Sophie looked down at the little girl, absolutely hypnotized.

"Hey, Atwood, Seth and I have something to ask you," Summer said from her bed. "I know that Taylor should probably be here for this, but since Grace arrived a little early, and we wanted to ask you when she was born…" Ryan smiled teasingly, "Out with it, already, Cohen." It had taken him a while after Seth and Summer's wedding three years earlier to stop calling her "Roberts," but it seemed the new term of endearment fit her even better. "We were wondering…well, hoping…that you and Taylor would be Grace's godparents." For the second time in a few minutes, Ryan was speechless. He had long ago shed any doubts that he was truly a part of this family, but that didn't mean these gestures symbolizing his belonging went unnoticed. After a moment, he replied with a simple "We'd be honored."

For the next hour, the family visited, passed the baby around, and spent time just catching up. Both couples lived in Oakland, which wasn't too far from Berkeley, but it did keep them separated from Sandy and Kirsten and Sophie. Ryan and Taylor were busy, he with his architecture firm and she as an international liaison for a big-time accounting firm. Seth and Summer, too, led their lives at a fast pace. Seth had two different comics and as many as fifteen illustrators under his supervision, and Summer was fighting the man as an environmental lawyer. While Kirsten and Sandy missed them, their sons and daughters-in-law still found time to visit every once in a while for a weekend or vacation.

After a while, the doctor returned, "Sorry, folks, but it's time to go. Mom and Baby need some rest." Everyone said their good-byes, promising to visit the next day, and filed out of the room. "Ryan, will you come to my school next week for Career Day? Mom has to work, and Dad's boring…there are already two lawyers and a professor coming to talk to us. But there's no architect! I would ask Seth, because comics are cool, but he's probably going to be busy with the baby," Sophie asked, holding her brother's hand as they exited the hospital. "Sure, kiddo. I'll be there." Sophie smiled. "Are you coming home with us now?" Ryan shook his head, "Not now, I have to get back to work for a little while. I'll be there next weekend for Christmukkah, though, remember?" Sophie giggled excitedly; Christmukkah was her favorite holiday, definitely a Cohen trait. She reached up to give Ryan a hug, "See you next week!" she said excitedly. "Later, Princess Sophie. Say hi to Andrew for me…keep him out of trouble."

Andrew Cooper was Sophie's best friend. Julie and Kaitlin had realized soon after the Cohens moved to Berkeley that they didn't have any other friends in Newport. So, along with baby Andrew, they had moved to a nearby neighborhood. Both had graduated from college and were now living lives quite different from their Newport existence; Julie had become a software programmer, of all things, and Kaitlin, at twenty-five, was climbing the ladder at an advertising firm in Los Angeles. Frank had moved to Chicago, and was rarely seen or heard from. There were no hard feelings; he had simply moved on, exiting their lives as quickly as he had entered them. Besides, Bullit was more than enough of a father and husband for anyone to handle. He and Julie had been married shortly after Summer and Seth, and were quietly and happily settling into middle age. Soon after the move to Berkeley, Sophie and Andrew bonded, and it pleased everyone to see another Cohen/Cooper relationship extending to the next generation. Ryan held a soft spot for Andrew, but it was Sophie who captured his heart. He couldn't explain it; it just seemed as though Andrew was more Julie's son than his brother, if that made any sense. When he was born and Ryan realized that Sophie's birth had been more meaningful to him, it didn't even surprise him. He was a Cohen, through and through.

The Cohens and Coopers met a week later for Christmukkah, a noisy affair with good food and lots of laughter. Julie, Bullit, Kaitlyn, and Andrew met Grace for the first time, which was a special moment for everyone involved (except for Grace, who lay entranced by the ceiling fan), Sophie and Andrew had fun tearing up the living room passing out presents, and everyone enjoyed spending time with those who were closest to them. As they sat down to dinner, they all held up their glasses and made a toast "to Marissa, who we hold in our hearts…" and then proceeded to eat Kirsten's delicious meal. As Ryan sat there, with Taylor next to him talking excitedly with Sophie, Seth and Summer fretting over baby Grace, and Sandy and Kirsten sharing a moment of having their family back together, he said a silent 'thank you' to whoever had given Sandy Cohen his file thirteen years earlier. Because while they had simply handed him a manilla folder, they had given Ryan so much more…a future, a chance…a family.


End file.
